


Emergency Room

by miabellaholtz



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: F/F, Holtzbert Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 20:03:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15226842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miabellaholtz/pseuds/miabellaholtz
Summary: An equipment malfunction during a bust lands one of the ghostbusters in the hospital. As they wait to hear about their friend, one of the busters feels she is to blame for the incident.For day 2 of Holtzbert week





	Emergency Room

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holtzbert Week. This was written for the day two prompt. Once again, I'd like to give a big thank you to Eevachu for orchestrating this event. Hope you enjoy!

The pungent smell of antiseptic cut through the room. Three women sat in uncomfortable chairs, watching the quiet bustle of the staff. Their moods were somber, matching those around them as they waited to hear news. As the brunette looked up at the clock to see that not even five minutes had passed she sighed. 

“What can be taking so long?”

“Girl got glass stuck in her like a pin cushion, a nice laceration to go with it, and a bash to the head. That’s gonna take time.”

“It’s been like two hours! They should be done by now.”

“Baby, you need to calm down. Getting upset ain’t gonna help no one. So just be patient and let the professionals work.”

Abby huffed, grumbling about how she had been patient enough.

The women fell back into silence. The second hand on the clock continued to drag its way around the circumference of the clock.

The tallest of the women glanced down at her third companion, who had not made a peep since arriving at the emergency room and bustling to the front desk, asking about the status of their friend. When they were told she was still being worked on and they would hear as soon as the team was finished, they had migrated to the chairs and sat down. She nudged her shoulder gently with her own. “Don’t worry too much, baby girl. Your girl is strong. She ain’t gonna let this slow her up one bit.”

The woman only nodded, continuing to stare at her folded hands. She was hunched over, knees separated, forearms resting on her thighs as she waited. Patty clucked her tongue, extending her hand to rub between the woman’s shoulders in what she hoped was a comforting motion, as the three continued to wait.

The third woman sat worrying, she recalled the moments that brought them here. They had been working, a routine bust really. Everything had seemed fine. She had even thought that the bust would be a new record as the four of them worked in tandem to secure the ghost inside of a trap. 

And then things went wrong. 

One of the four proton streams had begun to glow brightly. Brighter than normal. And as she opened her mouth to call a warning, the stream puttered out. Without the restraint coming in from that angle, the ghost was able to charge towards the other occupied operators. And it attacked her girlfriend. 

It sent her sprawling into a glass table, shattering it as it drove the human to the ground, her head bashing off the floor as her body made impact. Fear had seized the woman’s heart and her fumbling hands reached for her side arm, hoping to help subdue the manifestation or at least bring it away from her struggling companion. 

Her comrades had already fired at their target and were working to drag it back towards the trap. As the creature screeched its anger, she took aim and discharged her weapon. It gave a final howl before it was blasted. Trap be damned. The ghost had attacked her lover. She wanted revenge. 

The satisfaction of victory didn’t last as she had diverted her attention to her girlfriend. The woman lay on her back, but she had brought her hand up to her head and was gingerly touching it. The woman fell to her knees, taking hold of the hand and easing it back to the ground. “Hey, hey. You need to stay still. No moving.”

She was met with a groan.

“What hurts?”

“Head. Back. Shoulder. Stomach.” A hand came up again to reach towards her abdomen. 

The hand was once again stilled. The woman’s fingers came up to unzip the jumpsuit and pull it down. She sees the long cut that crossed her abdomen, blood pooling out and beginning to trickle down her sides. Quickly, she unzips her own jumpsuit and pushs it off her shoulders. Her shirt is whipped over her head and wadded up, before pressing into the wound and being met with a groan. 

“I know. I’m sorry. I – I need to stop the bleeding.”

The tallest of them comes over. “I called for an ambulance. Abby’s on her way down to meet them and bring them up. You’re doing good, baby, but you need to stay awake.” She takes stock of the wound. “How bad?”

“It’s long but I’m not sure how deep.”

The minutes dragged as they waited for the ambulance and when they arrived, they had worked quickly, getting their friend loaded into the vehicle and departing. 

And they’d been waiting since. The woman couldn’t help but have guilt crash over her in waves. Her weapon was the one that malfunctioned. Not only that, it was her design. She was the reason that Erin, her Erin, was being worked on in an ER to try to assess the damage which had been done because she had failed. 

And she couldn’t forgive herself.

The “what ifs” swirled around her brain as she sat quietly. Other variations of the scenario flashed through her brain, each more terrible than the last. And as they became more gruesome, the outcome became more bleak and she felt herself withdrawing more and more into herself. The one consistency in each scenario: it was her fault. She was to blame. And this may have just cost her the love of her life. It cost her – 

“… -ily of Erin Gilbert?”

A blonde head immediately snapped to attention as the shortest of them rose to meet the doctor. She was Erin’s emergency contact after all. As she conversed with the doctor in hushed tones, Holtz watched nervously, eyes flitting between their facial expressions. When Abby extended her hand to the doctor and turned back to Patty and Holtz, she gestured slightly for them to follow. 

The two rose to meet their friend. “She’s out,” Abby informed them. “They got all the glass. Those were all superficial but the big cut needed stitches. They sent her for some scans to make sure there wasn’t any internal bleeding, but the MRI and CT came back clear. They’re gonna watch her overnight for observation just to be safe, but they’re gonna release her tomorrow.”

Patty nodded before clapping Holtz’s shoulder. “See, Holtzy? Everything’s gonna be okay.” She turned back to Abby. “Did they mention if we can see her?”

Abby nodded. “She’s awake and has been asking about you Holtz. Wanna go?” After a nod, Abby spoke up. “She’s in room 1084. Why don’t you go back first. Patty and I’ll go get some dinner before we head over.”

Holtz numbly walked in the direction of the room, her nerves ablaze as she dreaded the conversation with Erin. Would she be mad? What if she was mad? What if she no longer trusted her machinery? What if she wanted her removed from the team? Each step brought forth a new demon to plague Holtz’s mind, manifesting in tremors that peaked when she reached Erin’s doorway. She brought up a quaking fist and rapped her knuckles gently on the door. When an answering “come in” was heard, she took a tentative step into the room, her hands rubbing her forearms as she anticipated Erin’s reaction.

Erin looked a bit roughed up but in reality, Holtz had expected worse. Small cuts had been covered in an ointment and littered her body but other than the fact she was in a hospital gown, lying in a hospital bed, she still looked like Erin. When she saw who had been at the door, a smile spread on her lips. “Hey there.”

Holtz’ hand came up to massage the back of her neck, a muted “hi” being muttered back.

Erin’s grin fell slightly. “What’s wrong?”

A foot scuffed at the ground. “You should be angry with me.”

Erin’s smile dropped into a frown. “Why would I be angry?”

“It’s my fault.”

Ever patient, Erin prompted her girlfriend. “What is?”

“You getting hurt.”

“How is it your fault that I was injured on a job?”

“My equipment didn’t work. My design must have been off.”

Erin was silent for a minute. She took in the sight of her lover actively avoiding her gaze, her stance uneasy and her body language telling Erin she was uncomfortable, guilt racking her body.

“Now if I gave you a marker and it was dried out, would you blame me?”

A brow furrowed. “No.”

“Why not?”

“You didn’t dry it out.”

“But I used it. I offered it to you thinking it worked.”

“But it wasn’t intentional. You thought it would work.”

“Exactly. It’s the same.”

“Erin, a marker can’t kill you.”

“Maybe not, but you didn’t let me use my pack thinking it wouldn’t work. You didn’t skip your last maintenance test. Nothing indicated that it was malfunctioning.”

“But it’s still my design.”

“A design that you have spent hours pouring over. A design that has worked on how many other busts without a hiccup.”

“But – ”

“No buts. Our field is dangerous. Accidents happen. No one was seriously hurt. Stop blaming yourself for things that were out of your control.” Erin beckoned Holtz to come closer, which she begrudgingly did.

As Erin took hold of Holtz’ hand, the blonde’s eyes filled with tears. “You could have died.”

Erin brought her lover’s hand to heart, placing it over her chest to feel the rhythmic beating. “But I didn’t. I’m still here, love. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Holtz let out a shuttering breath, a single tear leaking from her eye, Erin reached up to swipe it from her position in bed. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Erin gently brought Holtz to her, pulling her down by the shoulder to press their lips together in a gentle kiss. When they broke apart, a smile that reached Erin’s eyes spread across her face. “How long until Abby and Patty come back?”

“They were going for food. Might be another twenty minutes or so.”

The brunette licked her lips, scooting over on the bed and patting the empty space. “Why don’t we see just how long of a make out session we can get before someone comes in to… interrupt?”

Thirty minutes later, a voice rang out through the room. “You two horny ass bitches, are you for real? You’re in a god damn hospital!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and constructive criticism is always appreciated.


End file.
